How I Adapted My Link Building to Recover from the May 2022 Product Review Update

The May 2022 core update significantly impacted many sites relying on affiliate marketing and product reviews. As an SEO consultant for several E-commerce merchants, I saw the update's effects firsthand when organic rankings and revenue fell sharply. I knew we needed to realign with Google's updated quality guidelines as soon as possible.

The Initial Impact

1. Traffic dropped 50-70% on some sites
2. Affiliate product review sites hit the hardest
3. Revenue decreased in line with lower traffic levels

Through refined link building and content strategies, I successfully helped multiple clients regain their lost organic traffic within 2 months.

The Initial Impact

Traffic dropped 50-70% on some sites. Affiliate product review sites were hit the hardest. Revenue decreased in line with lower traffic levels across my client base.

My Recovery Approach

I was determined to bounce back more aligned to Google's expectations. On the link building side, this meant shifting from pure affiliate content posting to expert-driven advice articles. We brought on niche experts to contribute insights without financial ties. Any gifted items or affiliations were clearly disclosed.

I also removed spammy guest posts from link campaigns, instead focusing outreach on industry blogs reflecting the content's specific topic. Only relevant, high quality link placements were pursued.

• Removed spammy guest posts
• Focused link outreach on industry blogs reflecting content's specific topic
• Curated relevant, high quality placements

Additionally, we fostered more community relationships by engaging with influencers on social platforms, actively commenting on niche blogs, providing guest posts to known figures, and suggesting great resources for others to potentially link to.

• Engaged with influencers on social platforms
• Actively commented on niche blogs
• Provided guest posts to known figures
• Suggested great resources for others to potentially link to

The Results

Within 2 months, my clients had regained the lost organic traffic, with rankings continuing to increase through our updated link and content strategies.